Glass valve



R. FORMAN GLASS VALVE sept. 2, 1952 2 SHEETS-Sl-{EET l Filed Aug. 30, 1951 VACUUM IN VEN TOR. Ralph Forma/1 TTORNE Y IN V EN TOR. Ralph FZ7/man BY ATTORNEY 2 SHEETS-sl-lEET 2 Mci/UM R. FORMAN GLASS VALVE VACUUM zsept. z, 1952 Filed'Aug. 3o 1951 atentec Sept. 2, 1.95.2v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce kApplication August 30, 1951, Serial No. 244,448

9 Claims. (Cl. 137-638) (Granted under the act of 'March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; .370 0. G. 757) Y The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes .without the payment to me of any royalty there- ,on in accordance with the provisions of the, act of March 3, as amended (45 Stat. 467; 35 U. S. C. 45),.

This invention relates to the development of aV glass valve and more particularly to a `valve used to accurately control the .gas fiow into or through a high vacuum system.

In .the manufacture vof gas-filled electron tubes some form of valve must be used to accurately control the fiow of gas into the tube which .is to be filled with gas after evacuation.

A `normal Vpetcoclr type of valve is unsuitable for this purpose when high accuracy is required because the degassing of metal requires high temperatures, and the grease seal which isused in such valves is destroyed by the application of heat; Also the heated grease will contaminate the gas.- I 4The object of this invention is to provide a reliableA andY accurate glass Valve for control of vacuum systems requiring the highest degree of control.

`Anothervobject is to provide a glass valve that can be used in systems having lpressures as low as10 millimeters of mercury. I y 1 Y -Another object of this invention is to provide a simple valve for accuracy controlling the gas pressures in gas-filled electron tubes.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a valve that has the appearance of a water-condenser with but one side arm. One end of the center tube is sealed and the other end is connected into the system to be controlled. The center tube is cut in half and the two faces thus formed are optically ground and form the valve seal. A Kovar sleeve, in the preferred form of the invention, is inserted in the outer tube and a heater coil is wound around this insert. When current passes through the coil the Kovar conducts heat from the winding, and this heat causes the Kovar to expand. This increases vthe length of the outer tube, unseats the optically ground surfaces of the inner tube and thereby opens the valve. When the current is removed the Kovar cools and contracts, thereby closing the valve.

Other uses and advantages of the invention I Figure 2 shows a longitudinal cross section of the valve in the open position. e

Figure 3 shows a transverse cross sectionA of the valve taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 showsa longitudinal cross section of a modification of the valve used for higher speed operation. n l

Figure 5 shows a longitudinal cross section of another modification of the invention. I

Figure 6 shows a vacuumand gassing syste incorporating the valve of the present inven tion.

Referring now to Figures l and 3 which show the preferred embodiment of the invention, a piece of tube I of convenient diameter, such as 1/4 inch, is closed at one end and is sealed into 'a larger tube 2 of convenient diameter, such as'- 3A inch, seals being provided at 3 and 3 by means of glass welding or a similar operation. An inlet 4 is welded to tube 2. A metal sleeve 5 iswelded into the tube 2, as shown, such metal beingKovar or other material which has a thermal expan.-

sion approximately equal to that of glass to avoid cracking the glass or breaking the weld when heat is applied to the sleeve 5. Y V

It is possible to use a metal sleeve with a more rapid rate of thermal .expansion than glass if this metal sleeve is not joined to the glass directly but is brazed to a Kovar ring on each end, then the Kovar rings welded to the glass. A resistance winding 6 is wound around and suitably electrically insulated from the sleeve 5,;and is protected by an insulating winding 1. Acon- 4tinuation 8 of the tube I` is welded on at 9 4to con- ,I

neet the valve to the vacuum system. A saw cut is made through the assembled tubes I and 2 at Il, andthe annular surfaces I2 and I3, which result from the cut of the tube I, are optically polished. The tube 2 is then welded together at II, bringing the optical surfaces I2 and I3 into close gas-tight contact. The tightness of the seal is also due in part to the intermolecular attraction between the two surfaces.

Referring now to Figure 2, when current is passed through winding 6, heat is generated in the winding and is transferred to sleeve 5, causing said sleeve to expand. Expansion of sleeve 3 causes elongation of tube 2 and thus causes sur-` Figure 5 shows another modification of the glass valve. In this modification the metal sleeve is omitted and the electric heating coil is Wrapped around the glass. This applies the heat directly to the glass rather than to the metal. This particular modification is simpler to manufacture thanI those typeswith the metal inserts and is useful where the opening between I2 and I3 is to be small and therefore only small quantities of heat need be conducted tothe glass. However, when large amounts of heat are required the ,metal inserts are preferred because of their better 'heat/conductivity. g

Y Figure 6 shows the valve of the present inven- "tion'used in two places in a tube evacuation and .gassing system. The'system is connected to a vacuum pump'.(not shown) through the tube I'I andthe 'glass valve I8. vA gas container I9 provided with a projection is sealed vby means of weld 2l toinlet tube 4 of the valve 25, a Weight 22 being provided within tube 4 to permit `breaking of projection 20 when desired. A con- 'necting'tube 23 from tube 2 to tube 8 is sealed off, as shown, after degassing of the chamber betweentubes I and l2. Additional connection `24 is-provided to tube 8 rto connect the electron tube '25, which is tobe gass'ed. In operation, after -the system has been degassed, the vacuum pump connected to I'I is operated Ato evacuate the entirefsystem shown .The glass lvalve I- is then closed andthe system is agitated to cause weight -22to,bre,ak projection 20, permitting gas to flow int'o the chamber formed by tube- 2'. Current is then-passed through winding 8,-causingrtube 2 Vto'eirpand, thus causing surfaces I2 vand I3 of x4tube I to draw apart, and permitting gas to enter tube I and flow through 8andf24 into electron tube 26. 1Tube=26-may then be sealed off, and Jthe 'operation thus completed. l y

This valve has also found useas a standard leak for calibrating leak detectors and as a safety `valve for sealing vacuum systems when the pumps stop because of a power failure. This valve is particularly useful in sealing vacuum Vsystems, since leakage through the valve has been found to be approximately 0.005 liter-micron per hour; that is, the increase in pressure "inside ofya one-liter evacuated container due to Eleakage through the valve amounted to 10.005 10'3 millimeter of mercury perhour.

shown are only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction and arrangement within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A valve comprising. ,ajrst -tube sealed at one end and having an optically ground surface at -the other end, a second tube with both ends open and one of said ends being optically ground, said iirst and second tubes being so arranged that the Optically groundv surfaces are normally in contact `with each other, mechanical means for holding said optically ground surfaces in firm .contact and thermal means for elongating said Vmechanical means so as to pull apart said optically ground surfaces.

2. A glass valve for use in systems with pressures inthe orderY of .10'6 millimeters of mercury.

*comprising a first tube sealed at one end and open at the other end, the open end of said first tube having an-fopticall-y-ground-surface, assec- -ond tube of =the same diameter asy said* first :tube with Aboth ends open, one of Msaidxopen* ends having an `optically ground lsurface..saidfirst and second tubes arranged coaxially and.with said optically ground surfaces vnormallyin zcon tact, a third tu-be of larger diameter than said first. and second tubes, said 1third tubezarranged .concentrically with respect to said r'st. and second tubesk and .extending fromibetween thextwo ends of said first tube toapoint between `:the two .ends of saidseconcl tube,:one endrzof said third tubezbeing sealed to :said first ftube `andthe other :end of said ythird tube being sealed to :said second tube, an opening in thesideofsaid rthird; tube, and means for 4increasing the length of saidthird tube so as topullthe two opticallygground vsur faces apart. v

3.Y The'invention according to claim 2;-inwhich said Atubes are made of glass.

4. The invention according to claim-2 in which said last-mentioned means is a thermal, means.

`5. The invention according l,to claim zinwhch said last-mentioned Vmeans'comprisesl a. :metal insert in said third tube and an electric iheatin coil wound around said metal insert.

' 6. The invention according toclaim 5in-which said metal v-is Kovar.

7. The inventionaccording to claim 2in which said last-mentionedfmeans is aniejlectric heating coil wound around a sectionof said third ftube.

8. The invention according tov claim 2in-which vsaid last-mentioned means comprises a Ymetal insertin said third tube and an -induction heating coil associated with the metalinsert.

9. The invention according to claim 8-in,which said metal is Kovar.

l RALPH FORMAN.

No references cited. 

